Research

New York State War Council Petitions to the Attorney General to Restrict Access to Defense Installations

Held by the New York State Archives

Overview of the Records

Repository:

New York State Archives

New York State Education Department

Cultural Education Center

Albany, NY 12230

Summary:

This series contains petitions and supporting materials from defense installations to the War Council (and its predecessor,
the Council of Defense) requesting that certain streets adjacent to the defense facilities be closed to public access, or
that signs be posted restricting access to areas surrounding facilities. Factories involved in supplying war materials requested
the limits in order to prevent monitoring of shipments and deliveries, while other facilities such as water and power plants
sought to protect themselves from sabotage.

Arrangement

Chronological by meeting date with supporting materials preceding the petitions.

Scope and Content Note

This series contains petitions and supporting materials from defense installations to the War Council (and its predecessor,
the Council of Defense) requesting that certain streets adjacent to the defense facilities be closed to public access or that
signs be posted restricting access to an area surrounding a facility. The Attorney General, as a member of the War Council,
assumed the duty of investigating the petitions and recommending any necessary actions to secure the installations. Factories
involved in supplying war materials requested the limits in order to prevent monitoring of shipments and deliveries, while
other facilities such as water and power plants wanted to protect themselves from sabotage.

Petitions processed by John J. Bennett, Jr. and Nathaniel L. Goldstein, the attorneys general under Herbert H. Lehman and
Thomas E. Dewey, respectively, are found. A typical application contains a letter to the War Council from the president or
director of the facility delineating the nature of the request, along with a more formal resolution passed by the War Council,
signed by the Attorney General and countersigned by the Executive Secretary. This series also includes summaries of petitions
approved by the War Council and correspondence from the Attorney General to the Executive Secretary notifying him of pending
action on petitions.

Also found is a 1942 report by the Adjutant General sent to the Governor and apparently passed on to the Attorney General
concerning the security of almost 1,100 public defense installations throughout the state, including airports, telephone switching
buildings, water pumping facilities, railroad bridges, and ports and other entrepots. This report lists: installation and
its location; date inspected; inspector's name and rank; condition of security (satisfactory or unsatisfactory); and remarks
("Insufficient guards" or noting who conducted the inspection if not the New York Guard--often the U.S. Army, Navy, or Coast
Guard).

The series also includes lists of city and village mayors, along with lists of both state and local war council staffs, including
the Office of Civilian Protection, Office of Civilian Mobilization, and the Salvage Division. A subject index to all 1942
War Council meeting minutes is also found, though only one set of minutes (February 9, 1943) is found in this series.

Use of Records

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.

Related Information

Related Materials

Series A4304 Agendas and minutes of the New York State War Council, contains a complete set of meeting minutes.

Other finding aids

Folder list is available at the repository.

Processing Information

This series was originally accessioned as box 15 of old collection #77, accession -71.